By promoting a Russophobic campaign in Europe, in part by escalating the information war with a fake thesis about Russia’s alleged intention to attack Ukraine, Washington is trying to convince Europeans that it can find a vital substitute for Europe’s natural gas supply here. In particular, the Joe Biden administration is seeking additional sources of natural gas in North Africa, Middle East, Asia, as well as in the US itself, engaging with major LNG buyers and suppliers to “ensure the flexibility of existing contracts and storage facilities and the ability to divert gas to Europe.” In this regard, there are active discussions with Qatar to increase the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe in order to “eliminate Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas.”

Against the backdrop of bitter disputes between the United States, the West, and Russia over such issues as Ukraine and NATO eastward expansion, these American moves are designed to “sever ties” between the EU and Moscow on economic and energy issues, and to further unite European allies on the political path of US strategic pressure on Russia.

Recall that Russia provides about a third of the energy needs of Western Europe and supplies these countries with about 200 billion cubic meters of gas (Gazprom is contractually obliged to pump 40 billion cubic meters per year through Ukraine alone). However, many experts and analysts have already called the above attempts by Washington to find a replacement for cheap pipeline gas from Russia in Europe “a pointless fuss.” Although the share of short-term transactions in the global LNG market has increased from 16% in 2009 to 40% in 2020, it is nevertheless difficult for these deals to reach the same volume and prices as for natural gas supplies by pipeline due to the problem of LNG compression and transportation costs. Therefore, LNG can only play a supplementary role in the volumes of gas transported to various countries.

Nevertheless, the White House has intensified talks with major natural gas producers around the world in recent weeks, assessing their capabilities. Keith Pitt, Australia’s federal Minister for Resources and Water, has already announced his potential readiness to supply LNG to Europe, but concealed that such gas with an additional price for its transportation would be several times more expensive for Europeans and therefore is hardly a competitive option to cheap Russian pipeline gas.

Within the same context, Washington began to actively engage with Qatar. To this end, a meeting was held at the White House between US President Joe Biden and the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. The discussions covered not only the problems of the Middle East, but also the more global issue of energy security. Following their outcome, Biden notified his guest of his desire to designate his country as a key ally external to NATO, “in recognition of the strategic partnership” between the states, “which has deepened over the past 50 years.” Thus, Qatar could become the third Persian Gulf country after Bahrain and Kuwait to enjoy such a privileged status. The importance of the current emphasis on the development of relations with Doha for the Biden administration is evidenced by the fact that Qatar was the first Gulf state whose head was invited to the White House to discuss new “strategic American interests” both in the Middle East region and in Ukraine, in opposition to Russia.

Recall that Qatar has long been a US foothold in the Middle East. The US military base at Al Udeid, southwest of Doha, hosts about 10,000 US troops, as well as US Central Command (CENTCOM) forward headquarters for planning and executing military operations in the Middle East. Next to it is the 609th Air and Space Operations Control Center. There is enough military equipment in the warehouses of the American base in Qatar to fully equip one American brigade. The US military base in Qatar played a significant role in the deployment of troops for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. US forces concentrated in Qatar are now taking part in military operations throughout the region, including against the terrorist group Daesh (banned in Russia) in Syria and Iraq. Qatar itself has also carried out several airstrikes in Syria against Daesh as part of the US anti-terrorist coalition.

Doha has not only supported Washington’s fight against radical militias in the Middle East, but has also made significant efforts to facilitate the evacuation of Afghanistan, which was on the verge of collapse due to the lack of coordination of foreign coalition members and the rapid fall of Kabul. In addition, Qatar has become a secret intermediary in the exchange of messages between Iran and the United States behind the scenes of the negotiations on the nuclear deal in Vienna. Thus, Qatar has found itself at the crossroads of Washington’s most pressing geopolitical problems, becoming an important partner of the United States, all the while Doha is equally in need of a credible ally after its woeful experience with its neighboring Arab countries.

Qatar is the world’s second largest exporter of LNG, only slightly behind the United States, and plays an important role in global energy markets. That is why Washington decided to place a special bet on Doha in its struggle to oust Russia from the European gas market. However, since Qatar already has several energy contracts with Asian countries, it is unclear whether it has enough gas production capacity to help supply Europe.

Nevertheless, at the insistence of Washington, the leadership of the European Union turned to Qatar for assistance. However, Doha in its response has already made a number of uncomfortable demands of the EU. In particular, to impose a moratorium on the reversal of gas to non-EU countries, thereby opposing the provision of additional income to Poland or another country on the resale of blue fuel to Kiev. Another demand of Doha was similar to the one already put forward by Moscow: contracts must be made on a long-term basis, since short-term gas supplies requested by Brussels are not acceptable to Doha, given how unprofitable they are in terms of gas industry planning. The Qatari emirs cited as the third condition the termination of the antitrust investigation against the country, which began in 2018 when the European Commission commenced to suspect Doha of violating EU free trade rules.

With Washington and Brussels engaged in a backroom struggle with Russia to restrict its access to the European gas market and to oppose the commissioning of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Gazprom has concluded an agreement with China on additional supplies of blue fuel to the Celestial Empire, thus leaving the EU with fewer and fewer potential opportunities for future gas cooperation with Moscow. Sooner or later, Europe will have to fall back to long-term mutual trust and cooperation with Moscow in this regard, and avoid politicizing energy issues to the advantage of Washington if it is to effectively solve the problem of its own energy supply.

Vladimir Platov, expert on the Middle East, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

Saudi Arabia, overtaxing itself in its vain efforts to establish dictatorial control over all the countries on the Arabian Peninsula, has recently moved toward a compromise with Qatar to end a devastating three-year conflict. However, as practice still shows – and many sources close to the negotiations say – a complete resolution remains unattainable, despite the offer to make concessions. Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah bin Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told AFP agency that the kingdom and its allies – Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE – that imposed the blockade on Qatar in June 2017 are “on board” with resolving the crisis, and an agreement is anticipated in the near future.

A potential “thaw” appears to be arising as the Gulf states prepare for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who will welcome the resolution of the scandal that has undermined US efforts to curb its nemesis, Iran. The countries involved in the blockade continue to accuse Doha of being tied too closely to Tehran, and allegedly funding radical Islamist movements – despite Qatar’s categorical denials. They initially put forth a list for Qatar with 13 demands, including the closure of Al Jazeera, a popular and influential regional broadcasting company that has irritated the Gulf rulers with its “high-decibel” criticism.

Doha flatly refused. And, after a fierce standoff, the Saudi-led bloc is poised to significantly soften its demands in for a final deal. A person close to the Saudi government said that the kingdom is ready to reopen its airspace to Qatari aircraft, freeing them of fuel-consuming detours, if Doha stops funding its political opponents and putting restrictions on its media.

The blockade severed transportation links, tore families apart, and cost billions of dollars in lost trade and investment – damage that Gulf economies can hardly afford as they struggle to pull themselves out of the coronavirus epidemic, with their incomes plummeting as a result of declining oil prices and a harsh economic crisis. Ultimately, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have officially thrown their support behind efforts to overcome the schism between Arab countries.

Another Gulf source that is close to the talks stated that the Saudi process could lead to a certain kind of peace, but not completely address the underlying problems. According to him, the final deal is likely to be a joint document outlining the terms of what perhaps could be a reformatted version of the 2014 Riyadh agreement between Qatar and the other Gulf states – a secret pact believed to emphasize the principle of non-intervention into each other’s affairs. According to one Western diplomat in the Persian Gulf, mediators from Kuwait insist on bringing the three main leaders in the Arabian Peninsula on board for the negotiations – Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the current ruler of Qatar, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. These three will not only have to negotiate, but agree to peacefully coexist. “We are going to review one potential temporary solution for a few weeks… I don’t think anyone is waiting for a full resolution. Everyone will be looking at how wholeheartedly the official statement is worded,” diplomats from Doha said, quoting a senior Qatari official as saying that the final deal was “agreed upon in principle” but “limited in scope”. The official, they said, suggested that Saudi Arabia was reluctant to announce the deal before the term for current US President Donald Trump expires, possibly to set up a positive tone for Joe Biden, who promised to take a tough stance on Riyadh in regard to its human rights violations. The US is seeking to lift the air embargo that prompted Qatar to use Iranian airspace, contributing to the roughly 133 million USD that Iranian media reports Tehran receives annually from flights, undermining US efforts to exert economic pressure on it.

Experts believe there are strong signs that the media in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar have begun to soften their harsh rhetoric. Writing to the pro-government newspaper Okaz Daily, which usually criticizes Qatar, Saudi observer Tariq Alhomayed hailed “optimistic” sentiments, and called for “unity and cohesion” in the Persian Gulf.

But the real litmus test was the level of Qatar’s representation at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit (GCC), and the presence of the Qatari emir. The blockade led by Saudi Arabia was calculated to literally strangle Qatar, and force it to join the interests held by the Persian Gulf, and above all to ride on Riyadh’s coattails. But the sanctions only pushed Doha to pursue a course of self-sufficiency, and forced the rich emirate with “deep pockets full of money” to pursue a policy toward, and forge close ties with, Iran and Turkey.

In July, a UN court ruled in Qatar’s favor over the airspace dispute. However, despite Riyadh’s stance involving de-escalation, mistrust between both sides is deeply rooted, and experts warn that the differences are “fundamental and existential, and do not end after just a simple handshake”. It will take a lot of time and sustained effort on all sides to rebuild the old ties, says Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at the Baker Institute at Rice University in the United States. Any agreement will be the start of a longer process of reconciliation, not an endpoint or return to the previous status quo before 2017.

And ultimately the course taken by Qatar and its emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, led to the surrender of the Arab Goliath – Saudi Arabia – and forced its rulers to admit the fallacy inherent in its policy towards the small but proud emirate. The 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, which was just held in the Saudi city of Al-Ula, was a significant step towards resolving the differences between Qatar and its Persian Gulf neighbors. On the eve of the summit, the restrictions on airspace were lifted, and maritime and air borders with Qatar were reopened, as an act of good faith. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, speaking at the summit, emphasized: “Today we urgently need to unify our efforts to advance our region, and face the challenges that surround us, especially the challenges represented by Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programs, its devastating sabotage projects, and its terrorist and religious sentiments”.  This means that this Saudi directly acknowledged that the alleged threat to the kingdom is not Qatar, but the policy adopted by Tehran.

While Saudi Arabia’s solution marks an important milestone on the road to resolving the Persian Gulf crisis, the path to full-fledged reconciliation is far from a guaranteed one. The schism between Abu Dhabi and Cairo, on the one hand, and Doha, on the other, remains the deepest one, since the UAE and Egypt have the most pronounced ideological differences with Qatar over the activities performed by the Islamic organization al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization banned in Russia). And apparently in this case, it would be worth agreeing with the opinion of the astute and experienced UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, who said: “There is still a lot of work ahead, but we are moving in the right direction”.

Viktor Mikhin, corresponding member of RANS, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

]]> https://journal-neo.org/2021/01/13/qatar-is-on-the-verge-of-scoring-new-victories/feed/ 0 https://journal-neo.org/2021/01/12/gulf-normalisation-is-not-arab-unity/ https://journal-neo.org/2021/01/12/gulf-normalisation-is-not-arab-unity/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2021 20:25:22 +0000 https://journal-neo.org/?p=149273

While Saudia Arabia/UAE and Qatar have been successful in bringing their more than 3 years old diplomatic stand-off to an end, and the moment has been called a “big breakthrough”, there is no gainsaying that the ground realities of the Gulf have already changed to an extent where a mere normalization wouldn’t automatically produce the so-called “Arab Unity.” Past three years have seen Qatar developing meaningful ties with Iran and Turkey. Qatar has also strengthened its military power and it remains a patron of Muslim Brotherhood. Elsewhere in Yemen, Qatari backed Islah Party remains opposed to the UAE backed Southern Transnational Council (STC). While Saudi Arabia has been supporting Islah party, a group affiliated with Muslim Brotherhood, their alliance recently seemed to have fallen apart due to Saudia’s blatant criticism of the Brotherhood.

The recent détente between Saudia/UAE and Qatar is, therefore, not a result of a sudden convergence of mutual interests or a realization that Saudia led blockade of Qatar was benefiting Iran and Turkey, it is an outcome of Saudi/Emirati inability to force the smallest Gulf state with second highest gas reserves in the world into political submission. This is evident from the fact that Saudia/UAE decided to end blockade without Qatar fulfilling any of the 13 demands that the former had presented as a pre-condition to end the blockade.

While these demands included clauses about severing all ties to “terrorist organizations”, “shutting down Al-Jazeera”, “terminating Turkish military presence in Qatar”, and “curbing diplomatic ties with Iran”, the latest agreement mentions none of these. Instead, the agreement postulates and end of Saudi blockade of Qatar, with Doha agreeing to drop all legal actions against Saudia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain, and both sides stopping media campaigns against each other.

Soon after the agreement, Qatar was quick to announce that its relations with Iran would remain unchanged. For the UAE as well, this agreement is not an automatic transition to full normalization.

Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, said while his country was “extremely supportive” of the agreement, “One of the big things will be the geostrategic dimensions, how do we see regional threats, how do we see the Turkish presence?…. “The issue comes to the same fundamental questions…..how is Qatar going to deal [with] vis-à-vis interfering in our affairs through support of political Islam? Is Turkey’s presence in the Gulf going to be permanent?”

It is obvious that the agreement does not have enough substance to raise trust level. This mistrust is also evident from the agreement itself, which does not specify what outcomes will follow and when to expect them. There in, therefore, lies considerable risk for disappointment if progress toward the vaguely stated objectives of the summit declaration aren’t fulfilled or policy disagreements over contentious issues, including the questions of Qatar’s relations with Iran and Turley, resurface. Qatar’s own changed position adds to the exiting risks.

Qatar, as it stands, is no longer a small military power that it was three and a half years ago. Past three years have seen the tiny Gulf state spending a lot of money on its military modernization, which means that it has already amassed enough resource to exert itself even more powerfully in the geo-politics of the Gulf and Arab world as a power contender. The fact that it has been able to ward off all 13 demands of Saudia/UAE means that Qatar today is far better positioned vis-à-vis the leading Gulf states than it was four years ago.

During past three years, Qatar’s air force has increased its fleet from 12 to 96 jets, including French Rafael jets. Apart from its deal with France to buy 36 more Rafael jets, in 2017 it signed a $12bn deal with US manufacturer Boeing for 36 advanced F-15QA fighter jets. And, in 2018 the Gulf state successfully negotiated a deal with the UK to buy 24 Eurofighter Typhoon Jets.

As far as its ground force capability is concerned, Qatar recently bought and received 62 highly advanced German Leopard 2A7. These have been adapted to fight specifically in high temperatures and the sandy terrain of the desert. In addition, there is also an order for 100 Turkish Altay main battle tanks.

The fact that Qatar continues to host Turkish military base also adds to its powers. Speaking recently to Turkish military personnel in Baku in Azerbaijan, Erdogan said that the Turkish military “with a past full of glory and honour, will continue to fulfil… the task assigned to them in our country and all over the world… I wish our soldiers success, who fight to preserve peace, calm and stability in many places from Syria to Libya, from Somalia to Kosovo, from Afghanistan to Qatar.”

Qatar’s military modernization and expansion of direct military ties has its roots in the fear of being militarily overrun by the Saudis and the Emiratis. Qatari leadership has calculated that they face a perennial threat from Saudi and Emirati leaders who were/are deeply interested in Qatar’s marvelous gas wealth.

There is, therefore, no way Qatar’s leadership would become unmindful of these threats in the wake of the so-called “return to full diplomatic” ties with Saudia and the UAE; for, the fact remans that it is the tiny state of Qatar that has emerged from the crisis unscathed, defeating the combined power and pressure of four major states: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain.

It also means that the underlying purpose of the blockade remains unfulfilled, which further means that a return to full scale normalization is neither possible, nor the possibility of a return to antagonism completely far-fetched. In other words, while there is no blockade, the underlying tensions remain and can resurface over any small to major policy disagreement.

Salman Rafi Sheikh, research-analyst of International Relations and Pakistan’s foreign and domestic affairs, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

Against the backdrop of Trump’s already recognizably disastrous policy along many foreign and domestic vectors, he has nevertheless been vigorously looking to leave “a significant mark in American history” as his legacy. One of the areas of focus for this activity has been reconciling certain Arab and Muslim countries with Israel, which culminated in the signing of the peace agreements between Tel Aviv and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Sudan – the White House proclaimed that this was “an important step towards building peace in the Middle East,” American-style.

Another important initiative by the outgoing US administration is the reconciliation of Qatar with its other Arab neighbors.

It is worth reiterating that on June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and the Maldives severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, announced a financial, trade, and transportation boycott against it, and expelled Qatari citizens. They accused Qatar of providing ideological and practical support to jihadism, and specifically to the Muslim Brotherhood organization (banned in the Russian Federation), one which those who set up the boycott deem extremist and subversive. The reason stated by these countries was “the continuing actions taken by the state of Qatar aimed at destabilizing the situation, interfering in domestic affairs, incendiarism in the media, supporting terrorism, and providing financial assistance to groups associated with Iran.”

In terms of how harsh the wording was, these countries even went one better than Washington, which did not label either Qatar or Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who was in power back then, as sponsors of terrorism (the official list put out by the US State Department that contains those that adhere to evil principles worldwide only included Iran, Sudan, and Syria at that time). Although, of course, these countries clearly expressed their desire to please their master in the White House. On top of that, just a few weeks before that Trump had visited Riyadh for a summit of Muslim states, where he made very tough statements regarding Iran that clearly encouraged the Saudis, and they took that as giving them the green light for further action, deciding to use that path to take on Qatar. That is why it is quite understandable that the main target for accusations of “Qatar’s friendship with Iran” was Iran, not Qatar. The relationship with Tehran is what sparked a quarrel among the Arab monarchs of the Persian Gulf, and all the while Qatar has always spoken out in support of Iran, realizing the full disastrousness of taking that kind of position.  Qatar and Iran jointly operate a large gas field, and on November 24, 2020 the seventh meeting of the Iran-Qatar Joint Economic Commission was held in the Iranian city of Isfahan, which ended with the signing of a memorandum of understanding to help bolster bilateral trade relations.

In 2017, Qatar’s neighbors put forth 13 demands for it, including shutting down Al Jazeera TV channel and a Turkish military base that also provides shelter to the Muslim Brotherhood. Moreover, had it not been for the Turkish military base in Qatar, perhaps Saudi Arabia and its allies would have invaded it long ago.

As far as the United States’ own interests in Qatar go, they are multi-faceted. And interest in Qatar is not on the wane nowadays, since its involvement in various conflicts, including regional ones, has not yet run its course in the plans laid by the United States and its allies. Relations between Qatar and the United States began to develop and expand at an increased pace after the 1991 Gulf War. At the same time, bilateral ties in the military and political field have received the greatest boost in their development. Washington particularly values how Qatar allots land for various American military installations, and purchasing American weapons worth many billions of dollars. It should also not be forgotten that one of the largest US military installations abroad is Al Udeid Air Base (AFB), which is located south of the Qatar’s capital, Doha. This base was used during all the actions that the US air force took against Iraq, and from 2001 to the present it has been a bridge to help support military operations for Western coalition troops in Afghanistan. Additional evidence of close ties between the United States and Qatar is the current role played by Doha as a platform to hold talks for Washington to try to resolve the situation in Afghanistan. This is the reason why, – besides for the purposes of holding additional consultations with the Qatari military establishment – in Doha on December 17 US Army general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley held talks with the Afghan Taliban (an organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation).

The White House has moved actively to make peace among its Arab allies following a recent tour of those countries in the region by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser. He held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who effectively rules Saudi Arabia, and the Qatari Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who gave assurances that they were willing to resolve the mutual crisis in their relations. According to a number of Arab publications, during his trip Jared Kushner also called on Riyadh and Doha to “reconcile with Israel before Donald Trump leaves the White House,” but the Qatari authorities rejected this American proposal.

This summer, Washington’s efforts to resolve the conflict and achieve a truce with Qatar almost ended in success, but at the last moment the agreement was frustrated by Abu Dhabi, which is believed to be the main entity that initiated the blockade against Qatar, and it “dissuaded” Riyadh from any rapprochement with Doha. Nonetheless, efforts along the lines of reconciliation have continued recently, including those that involve Kuwaiti mediation.

And just the other day, the crown princes of the Saudi Arabia and the UAE met in the Saudi city of Neom, on the Red Sea coastline, to discuss how to settle the Qatari crisis. According to Arab media outlets, bin Salman and bin Zayed managed to reach a preliminary agreement on reconciliation with Doha, and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi promised that he would not obstruct the path toward reconciliation if Riyadh wants to resolve this conflict. At the same time, Kuwaiti media reported that the countries in the Arab Quartet – Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt – intend to take action to reconcile with Qatar at the next Gulf Cooperation Council summit, which was postponed from this December to early January 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Vladimir Platov, an expert on the Middle East, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

Over the course of the last decade, Qatar’s media coverage was due to its role in staging and putting into motion a number of Color Revolutions. The country acted as a sponsor for training and preparation programs for influencers and bloggers on organizing mass protests via social media. In addition, according to multiple media reports, the Emirate’s authorities provided financial, strategic and technological assistance to Color Revolution activists in Egypt, Libya, Syria, carried out ideological and propaganda support with biased event coverage in these countries with the help of the Qatar-funded Al-Jazeera TV channel as well as other media. That aside, Doha lobbied in various regional and international organizations for the interests of Color Revolution activists to support military operations for regime change in the so-labelled “rebellious Arab states”. Qatar frequently acted in conjunction with the United States and certain Western states interested in such a regime change in unwanted countries, as well as with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which also actively participated in the events surrounding Arab Spring.

Although today the intensity of the Color Revolutions has somewhat dissipated, nevertheless, Qatar continues to finance militants from Syria, Libya and those of a number of other hot spots, as reported by the militants themselves to the Asia Times, complaining about decreased wages after arriving in Karabakh from Middle Eastern countries.

Interest in Qatar is far from waning even today, since its involvement in various conflicts, including regional ones, has not yet exhausted itself in the plans of the United States and its allies. And this is confirmed by the recent confessions by Qatar’s Minister of Defense, Al-Attiyah, in an interview with Al-Jazeera, who stated the reasons why Washington prevented Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt from invading Qatar in 2017 after they broke off relations with Qatar in June 2017 and accused this oil and gas rich country of supporting radical Islamists and Iran. “Trump abandoned his position in support of blocking countries as soon as he realized the importance of the strategic relationship between Qatar and the United States,” the minister said in his speech.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs Timothy A. Lenderking also announced his intention to move even further in relations with Qatar in September, calling Qatar a major non-NATO ally. According to him, this status gives foreign states certain advantages in the defense trade and cooperation in the field of security.

So, at the end of September, news hit of the first foreign squadron of US space forces at the American base of El-Udeid in Qatar, where the first 20 servicemen of the new branch of troops already arrived. In the near future, they will be joined by several more people who, as noted by the American agency AP, will operate satellites, track enemy maneuvers and the sea vessel movements in the Persian Gulf, as well as participating in conflicts in space, should such instances occur.

Without a doubt, this step by Washington demonstrates not only its desire to increase US space force support in the Middle East, in order to resist Iran, strengthening its positions in Syria and Iraq, but also its intention to further strengthen strategic cooperation with Qatar. This is confirmed by the third round of negotiations between the United States and Qatar, which took place at the end of September in Washington, where a deal on the supply of arms to Doha for 26 billion dollars was discussed. The talks were held by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammad bin Abdur-Rahman Al-Thani. According to experts, the United States’ intentions are to join Qatar as a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA), the possibility of which has already been announced by Timothy A. Lenderking, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs.

But Washington has recently been actively developing relations with Qatar not only in the military field. In Doha, Afghan conflict contact group meetings formed by the negotiating parties are continuing, which are still discussing the principles the parties should discuss. On October 5, Afghan President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani arrived on an official visit to Qatar, where the first in several decades negotiations between the delegations of the Afghan government and the Taliban movement (banned in Russia) are underway. Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received the Afghan President at his working palace, where they discussed “possible ways to develop bilateral relations.” On September 12, peace talks started here between the Afghan government and the Taliban, with whom the US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has already met in Doha. Although Qatar is undoubtedly sympathetic to the representatives of the radical Taliban, to whom it previously provided a platform for the creation of an office, nevertheless, the arrival of the Afghan President in Doha is evidence of Qatar’s recognition as an even more important participant in the Afghan process than was expected six months ago.

For Washington, another important area of “strategic use” of Qatar lately became the latter’s participation in the White House’s recent policy of the so-called “deal of the century” towards recognition of Israel by the Arab states. The third strategic dialogue between the United States and Qatar, which took place on September 14-15, was dedicated to this topic, at the end of which Timothy A. Lenderking, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, said: “Qatar has a track record of working with Israel that we think will eventually get them to a broader agreement with the Israelis.” “We think there’s a lot to build on, every country will move at its own pace on normalization, according to its own criteria, but we’re eager for that to happen sooner rather than later,” he said.

However, according to Qatar’s Ambassador to the United States, Mishaal bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the emirate sees no problems in signing a peace treaty with Israel, but it will take such a step only after the recognition of Palestinian independence. Al Thani explained, as reported by The Times Of Israel, that Qatar is committed to the peace initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002, according to which all Arab countries are ready to recognize Israel in exchange for Palestinian independence within the pre-1967 borders. “We believe in a two-state solution for the Palestinians and in securing Israel’s borders, and if these conditions are fulfilled, then we don’t see any reason for Qatar to not normalize relations with Israel,” the Qatari diplomat said.

Vladimir Platov, an expert on the Middle East, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

The coronavirus pandemic, which has rapidly swept across almost all the countries in the world, has also demonstrated the abilities of individual rulers and the ruling elite to resist this scourge.  Quite a few countries, such as the United States, have failed to properly withstand this attack, and have fallen victim to COVID-19; others, such as Qatar, the small but wealthy emirate in the Persian Gulf, have not only coped with the virus but have managed to strengthen their positions, both domestically and internationally.

The strategy adopted by the government in Qatar, based on its official doctrine, rests on three main pillars: providing the general public with medical care, mitigating its economic and social consequences, and fulfilling the country’s international role in helping poorer countries.

On instructions from Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, a comprehensive set of measures and procedures was approved that is geared toward overcoming the consequences of this virus-related crisis. A decree was immediately passed to help support and provide financial and economic incentives in the amount of 75 billion riyals (1 riyal = 0.27 USD) to the private sector; this was on top of a directive from the Central Bank of Qatar to defer outstanding loan payments, and the earnings or refunds from those, for whoever wishes that.  Decisions made by the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management dictated that for a time period of six months, starting on 16 March 2020, besides the additional liquidity that would be provided to banks, installments for all borrowers would be postponed, public funds would increase investment in the stock market by 10 billion riyals, and there would be exemptions from electricity and water charges.

At the same time, Qatari banks “pumped” 996.2 billion riyals, which representing new loans (lines of credit) into the Qatari economy’s arteries during June alone, with an annualized growth rate of 11.46%, compared to 971.7 billion riyals in the same month the previous year. This trend reflects continuing funding for ongoing projects in the local market, despite the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, and the tough sanctions that have been unlawfully and unreasonably imposed on the emirate by Saudi Arabia and several of its Arab satellites. At the same time, Qatar has laid down the foundation for new projects worth 2.45 billion riyals (675 million USD). On the other hand, lines of credit extended beyond the bounds of Qatar have reached 1.06 trillion riyals, which represents an increase of 9.88% over last year.

it is well-known that when a normal situation prevails inside a country, the population tries to acquire good housing. So how do things stand in Qatar, which is successfully fighting against both the Covid-19 epidemic and the harsh sanctions imposed by Saudi Arabia?   The volume of real estate transactions entered into under sales and purchase agreements registered with the Real Estate Registration and Authentication Department at the Ministry of Justice reached a whopping 784 million riyals for the 12-16 July time period. he weekly bulletin published by the administration indicated that the list of property assets for sale included land plots and residential buildings. Moreover, commercial activities were not only performed in and around Doha, the capital city.

Against the backdrop of unfair, harsh Saudi Arabian sanctions that, in particular, shut down the only land border that the emirate has, great success was still achieved implementing its National Food Security Strategy for 2019-2023. In an interview with the Qatar News Agency, Jaralla al-Marri, the director of the Food Security Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, stressed that the recent period has been marked by an increase in local production, as well as efforts put forth to promote agricultural goods for wide swaths of the population. Yousef Khaled Al-Hulaifi, the director of the Department of Agricultural Research at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, told the Al-Watan newspaper that over the past two years privately-run agricultural organizations, with help provided by the government, have started to use cutting-edge agricultural machinery such that the quality and quantity of their goods have skyrocketed.  At the same time, two promising marketing programs called “Premium Vegetables” and “Qatari Farms” were launched. However, taking into account the fact that Qatar is an extremely wealthy country, it follows a policy of patronage, providing free assistance to many countries around the world. For example, it recently provided an assistance package to Paraguay, which included important healthcare equipment, accessories, and devices to help combat the Covid-19 virus, as well as 500 large food packages and personal hygiene kits.

It is worth noting that the Qatari government has not come to terms with the unjust sanctions imposed by Saudi Arabia and its satellites on the emirate.  Qatar’s national airline, Qatar Airways, recently filed claims with international arbitration organizations that seek at least 5 billion USD in damages from neighboring countries following their decision three years ago to shut down their airports and airspace to receive Qatar-registered aircraft, or let them fly through.  Qatar Airways has initiated cases in four international arbitration courts against the United Arab Emirates and the kingdoms of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, which have all imposed an illegal air, sea, and land blockade on Qatar since 2017. At the same time, the airline noted that for three decades Qatar Airways has heavily invested in the infrastructure in all these countries to help provide service to hundreds of thousands of passengers, and transport tens of thousands of tons of cargo shipments annually to each. However, since 5 June 2017, Qatar Airways has continued to suffer losses due to the blockade that was declared.

This kind of well-thought-out, professional policy within the emirate, serving the interests of all Qataris, and that defends its interests in the foreign arena, elicits something that, if not admiration, then at the very least represents positive feedback from the leaders in many countries around the world.

Victor Mikhin, member-correspondent of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, specially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook“.

Inexplicable Arab sanctions against Qatar are now in their fourth year. At the present time, only Saudi Arabia and its satellites – Egypt, Bahrain, and the UAE – maintain the embargo, and accuse Doha of some types of sins that those countries themselves don’t understand. At the same time, during all three years, the Emirate has constantly declared its readiness to cooperate with the other Persian Gulf states, and international agencies, to resolve the crisis on the basis of dialogue without preconditions, respect for the State of Qatar’s sovereignty, and non-intervention in its and other countries’ internal affairs.

Today, the crisis in Qatar has entered its fourth “anniversary.”  To a large degree, the boycott has been forgotten, except for the party that has suffered most from this unjust action that threatens its freedom and sovereignty. The boycott isolated the Emirate from its Arab neighbors. But each year, each month, and each hour, Qatar has asserted that it became stronger than before June 5, 2017, when the embargo began. Political, diplomatic, media, and other strategies are based on policies that the country’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has pursued, to a large degree, inside the country and beyond its borders, while at the same time desperately seeking regional and international mediation to put everything “back on track.”   Therein lies a contradiction, since one who has become stronger after a boycott, cannot return to the time when he was “weaker.” How can someone, who has sworn to uphold the independence of his political decisions to resist hegemony, now surrender and allow others to manipulate the Emirate as they see fit? How can someone, who rejects being commanded in his foreign policies, and interference in internal affairs, permit his country to become an open arena for new Arab demands?   What causes Qatar distress currently is not so much the isolation, which it has endured now for three years, but the inability to conduct its former policy of using special relationships with its Arab neighbors to maintain peace and stability in the region.

From the very beginning, Qatar considered the unprovoked sanctions unlawful, and its representatives lodged complaints with the International Criminal Court, and International Civil Aviation Organization, hoping to restore its air space, which, for the small Emirate is vitally important for supplying the nation with food. Interestingly, even the US recently attempted to exert pressure on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to reopen their air space to Qatari airplanes. Until now, however, no progress has been achieved, although Qatar’s leadership, as before, has been maintaining constant contact with Washington on this matter.

From the influential newspaper Al-Watan:

“After three years since the start of the embargo, and unlawful measures against the State of Qatar, we are proud of the successes we’ve achieved and international partnership relations with countries of the world, with which we share respect for human rights, the rule of law, and international cooperation, while at the same time we deplore the activities of those forces which, by their irrational policies, promote only disunity among Arabs and a decline in their influence in the international arena.”  

It is difficult not to agree with this viewpoint of the Qatari newspaper, when the global media report on the country’s steady and successful course, which aims for new achievements, in particular, in the fields of economics and finance.  Despite the shock from the embargo, Qatar’s economy has proven more robust than those of its Persian Gulf competitors. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that in 2020 Qatar will become one of the few countries in the world, where observers will take note of budget surpluses. Qatar occupies first place in the Middle East for food security, and 13th place in the world according to the latest rating by the global food security index, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

According to data published by British magazine The Economist, Qatar occupied 35th place in the rating, which comprised 66 countries with developing economies. At the same time, the Emirate receives high sovereign ratings from international credit rating agencies, Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s. And with that, it is worth recognizing that Qatar’s ratings are maintained by the country’s very strict foreign financial conditions, given the central government’s relatively low debt level, and large foreign assets, created by Qatar over several years.

In parallel, Qatar continues deliberately to increase its global investments through foreign sovereign assets of the Qatar Investment Authority (Sovereign Wealth Fund), which is geographically distributed over all the world’s continents, and includes investment symbols that ensure good returns, and serve as a broad defense against any potential financial shocks. The Fund occupies ninth place in the world in the list of the world’s largest sovereign funds, and it has a decent assortment of investments, which it obtained either directly, or via its own companies, such as Harrods and London’s Shard Tower, which is the tallest in Europe, and also solid shares in the banks of Barclay’s and Credit Suisse, along with automobile giants Volkswagen and Porsche, 9% of the stock of Glencore, the Anglo-Swiss commodities and mining company, and also a 22% ownership of Sainsbury’s stock. The Qatar Authority also opened an office in New York, and plans to invest 35 billion dollars in the United States of America. The Authority obtained approximately 10% of the Empire State Realty Trust which, since 2016, has owned the renowned Empire State Building. In addition to Miramax and Rosneft, the QIA owns 8.3% of Brookfield Property stock, 6% of the international oil and gas company, Royal Dutch Shell, along with Grosvenor House, shares in Bank of America, Total, the American jewelry company, Tiffany, and New York’s Plaza Hotel.

Qatar, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has no plans to lower production, but maintains plans to increase the volume of LNG, from the current output of 77 million tons/year, to 110 M tons/year by 2025, and 126 M tons/year by 2027, reported Qatar Petroleum’s press center, citing information from the country’s Minister of Energy and company CEO, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi. He noted that, in June, the company would reduce capital and operating expenses by 30%  According to the Minister’s information, low costs of production will help Qatar withstand low gas prices, and the country at present is not considering a reduction in extraction. “In fact, we intend to expand and even produce more than the planned for 126 M tons of LNG per year,” said Saad Al-Kaabi.

As the Qatari newspaper Gulf Times noted: “Unfavorable circumstances and crises, which Qatar has borne and continues to bear, shall not be an obstacle for Qataris to continue the march toward our goals, activities, and efforts to achieve our national vision, Qatar 2030.” The country’s policies, and plans for managing projects, have produced many successes, both inside and outside of Qatar, as has also the budget for humanitarian assistance, which the Emirate supports through its programs all over the world.

Viktor Mikhin, corresponding member of RANS, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook” .

The COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging most of the world’s nations has surely placed ensuring global unity (without which it will be impossible to win against this evil quickly enough and with more or less no grave consequences) in the fight against the virus on the planet’s agenda. Many politicians and experts believe that the current situation worldwide will only become worse without extensive international cooperation and coordination among various countries.

In the present climate, the role played by the small nation of Qatar during the ongoing crisis seemed all the more positive. It provided assistance to and cooperated with countries affected by the pandemic. And in fact, from the very start of the outbreak Qatar actively helped China, Iran and Italy. According to Italy’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, nations like Qatar realize that the world needs to come together in order to survive this crisis. “In an interconnected world like ours, the only effective way to take care of yourself is to take care of others. Solidarity is the new selfish,” she has said.

Doha’s belief that human solidarity and international cooperation will help the world, in the end, successfully deal with the ongoing crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic is truly relevant today. The ability of many nations’ healthcare systems to function is severely undermined due to the rapid spread of the Coronavirus. Hence, they require assistance from other countries in order to stop the global outbreak and reduce the number of deaths. For example, besides medical aid already provided to Italy, which included a field hospital, equipment and medical supplies, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani ordered additional assistance to be sent. Recently, 29 tonnes of this medical aid package arrived in Italy. It was brought by the Qatar Emiri Air Force. The plan is to deliver the assistance weighing 260 tonnes altogether via 12 flights, in total.

In the meantime, a cargo plane with goods and medical supplies arrived in Tehran. It was a gift from the Qatari leadership to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The aircraft brought more than 15 tonnes of products and equipment, provided to Iran for its battle against the Coronavirus.  Over the past one and a half months, the Qatari government sent two more batches of medical supplies and medicine to its neighbors.  In light of the collaboration between the two nations and subsequent measures taken by Minister of Energy of Iran Reza Ardakanian as the head of the Iran-Qatar Joint Economic Cooperation Commission, Tehran had earlier received its second 8.5-tonne medical aid batch. And on 14 March, Doha had sent the first part of the package that included 5.5. tonnes of medical, healthcare and hygiene products.

In response, Iran has dramatically increased food exports to Qatar. The head of Industry, Mine and Trade Organization in Bushehr Province (in the south of Iran), Seyyed Hossein Hosseini, stated that exports from this region had increased by 37% last year (which ended on 19 March 2020 according to the Iranian calendar) in comparison to the previous one.  He said that 830,000 tonnes of goods worth $157 million had been exported to Qatar. Such figures indicate a significant growth in deliveries.

According to Gulf Times, “in a major bid to ensure food security and combat epidemics, Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF)” in collaboration with the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) “will soon announce the second cycle of ‘Food Security Call in four priority areas for the country”. “The new cycle aims to boost local food production in the priority areas, such as local supply chain; technology to accelerate the development of highly productive and healthy animals, including combating epidemic diseases; technology to accelerate local production of high-quality vegetables; and sustainable aquaculture,” Dr. Abdul Sattar Al-Taie, the Executive Director at QNRF, told the Gulf Times.

“QNRF runs a diverse and rich portfolio of funding programs which falls under three main suites: competitive funding research programs, capacity building programs, and research connection programs, all of which are run strictly on competitive basis to ensure quality and equal opportunity,” Dr al-Taie added. He said that “in the first cycle of the food security call, QNRF received 48 proposals”. Overall, 46 of them passed through the “stringent two-tier evaluation process”. “Out of these, nine proposals were awarded after a competitive review process. Five of the awards went to researchers at Qatar University, three to Hamad Bin Khalifa University and one to Texas A&M University in Qatar. These winning proposals focused on a multitude of themes including aquaculture, vegetable production, protected agriculture (greenhouse and hydroponics), and the use of advanced technology to enhance local food production,” the Executive Director of QNRF revealed.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar is actively continuing the work on government infrastructure projects in order to successfully complete all the preparations for the hosting of millions of visitors from all over the world during the FIFA World Cup 2022. It is a great achievement for Qatar to be able to meet all the nation’s medical needs for successfully tackling the global pandemic and to continue running the government as usual at the same time. The importance of the preparations was underscored by the fact that the Emir of Qatar chaired the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy in 2020. It took place with the aid of visual communication technologies ensuring that all the public health and safety requirements were met.

During the session, plans for preparing for the FIFA World Cup 2022, and developing businesses and initiatives in connection with the event were presented. They are all running smoothly and efficiently at present. Projects aimed at stopping the spread of the Coronavirus among migrant workers and ensuring their health and safety are in the works. By using the latest technologies as a tool to make sure various agencies continue to function, including those involved in the construction of sports facilities, Qatar has demonstrated that it can achieve the necessary balance between ensuring the smooth running of various government agencies and the introduction of wide-reaching social benefits for its entire population.

In Qatar, it is clear that all the Qatari citizens have to collaborate and pool efforts with one another in order to successfully deal with the economic consequences of the pandemic, such as low crude oil prices and the possible global recession. The current state of affairs indicates that, from an economic and financial perspective, countries that are part of the global economy as well as those whose earnings mainly come from the export of energy resources will face hardships in the future.

Viktor Mikhin, corresponding member of RANS, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook” .

“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy,” said the mastermind of Western ideology back in the day, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill.

This statement is currently very relevant to Qatar’s policy towards Saudi Arabia, as Qatar has not only stood up to the Saudis and their inhumane embargo, but it has also been busily and successfully building a new life from a new beginning. Here are just a few striking examples.

According to the Anadolu Agency, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani made an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia for the first time. Diplomats are quiet naturally very fond of keeping things under wraps until they have achieved some success. This was a visit to an enemy country, whose king even wanted to occupy the small emirate of Qatar at one stage. But according to the Wall Street Journal which has well informed and confidential sources in Riyadh, the purpose of the secret visit was to discuss ways to reduce the tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, a rift which has lasted for two and a half years. The Qatari Foreign Minister allegedly told the Saudi authorities that Doha is prepared to sever ties with the illegal terrorist Muslim Brotherhood organization for the sake of improving their bilateral relations, a move which has been welcomed by Saudi officials. The same Wall Street Journal stated that Qatar’s move is a successful diplomatic breakthrough in the difficult situation that has developed between the two countries, for which Saudi Arabia is to blame.

The Saudi football team landing in Doha to participate in the Gulf Cup after accepting an invitation from the Qatari side can also be viewed as somewhat of a historical event in the timeline of efforts being made to repair relations. By the same token, the Saudis have also given teams from the UAE and Bahrain permission to fly to Doha and compete in this football competition. Countries such as Oman, Kuwait, Iraq and Yemen, which do not kowtow to the Saudis, had confirmed they would be participating even earlier. As a result, all the Arab states of the Persian Gulf are arriving in Qatar for the Gulf Cup, which marks another victory for the Qataris. A short while earlier, Saudi Ambassador to Kuwait Prince Sultan bin Saad Al Saud had to admit that “sports might repair what politics has ruined.” Truth be told, the football matches are not the headline event at this championship — it is Saudi Arabia’s participation in and of itself, which has been boycotting Qatar since June 2017.

Two and a half years ago, Riyadh made the following demands to Doha: break off diplomatic relations with Iran, stop subversive activities in other countries and silence the criticism coming from the al-Jazeera broadcaster by closing it. Not only did Qatar refuse to fulfill these demands, it has managed to break the economic blockade with the help of friendly countries, primarily Turkey and Iran, and quickly managed to set up a number of enterprises to produce industrial and food products that it had imported before being sanctioned. All the while, the United States has been keeping a close eye on events in the region, trying to guess in which way the situation is about to turn. Donald Trump’s feigned efforts, supposedly aimed at helping Saudi Arabia and Qatar achieve reconciliation, have been predictably unsuccessful. But his announcement that the US is pulling out of the Middle East has had a dramatic impact on the royal regime, forcing the Saudis to rethink their old strategy with its exclusive focus on Washington. After all, it is fairly obvious that if Donald Trump is not re-elected and a Democratic president enters the White House, Saudi Arabia may find itself caught in the middle of two hostile American forces: Congress and the US federal executive departments. In light of all of these developments, an article in the Egyptian newspaper “Al-Ahram” wrote that the Persian Gulf, once dominated by Saudi Arabia, is now beginning to look like a piece of Swiss cheese. Oman and Kuwait did not have the slightest involvement in blockading Qatar, while the UAE, a Saudi ally and former strategic partner, decided to abandon the war in Yemen, in order to restore its relations with Iran and Qatar.

An important achievement for Qatar to strengthen its international and economic relations was a successful visit from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who joined the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to preside over the 5th session of the Qatar-Turkey Supreme Strategic Committee (SSC).  A joint final statement was signed during the meeting, affirming the commitment both parties have made to strengthening the legal framework of their bilateral relations. They also expressed their satisfaction with the growth in bilateral trade, which reflects the strength of their political ties. The SSC welcomed the growing interest among Qatari companies’ in investing in Turkey, and reviewed the commitment Qatar has made to invest $15 billion in Turkey.  The SSC also expressed satisfaction with the greater level of cooperation in projects related to hosting the FIFA World Cup finals in 2022.  The two sides expressed their willingness to increase cooperation in defense industries in the long-term, and discussed the importance of greater cooperation in the field of food security.

Qatar and Turkey held in-depth talks on international issues, stressing the importance of coordinating their positions and further strengthening their partnership in light of ongoing regional developments. The two sides reaffirmed their common commitment to maintaining and promoting peace, security and stability in the Middle East and neighboring regions, as well as finding peaceful resolutions to disputes, without resorting to threats of force or sanctions.

Bilateral relations between Qatar and Turkey have “reflected positively” on bilateral trade, which grew by 78.8% and reached QR 8.7 billion in 2018 compared with QR 4.8 billion in 2017, said Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari.    In his speech, the Qatari Minister noted: “During the same period, Qatari exports to Turkey grew by 99%, while Qatari imports from Turkey increased by 64.9%.”  Turing to investment, the Minister “praised” Turkish companies for contributing to the Qatari economy, noting that some 499 Qatari-Turkish joint companies are currently operating in trade, contracting and information technology sectors, while 37 wholly-owned Turkish companies are operating in the construction and industrial sectors. Reflecting on all of these positive facts, an article in the Qatari newspaper “Gulf Times” confidently states: “Qatar [and] Turkey stand shoulder to shoulder on bilateral [and] regional issues.”

In the face of sanctions, Qatar kept a cool head and was quick to come up with a comprehensive strategy to diversify its sources of revenue by supporting vital sectors of the economy and investors, implementing a system of programs and policies aimed at opening up the country’s economy in accordance with the monarchy’s economic plans to attract companies and direct foreign direct investment in priority sectors. This has involved making key amendments to the rules for conducting business in the country, with new legislation allowing foreign investors to own up to 100% of businesses in all economic sectors, commercial and real estate activities.

Alongside this, Qatar is seeking to open up its economy to the world by upgrading its infrastructure to meet the needs of companies, and by increasing trade with various partners around the world. Qatar Airways is helping the country achieve these goals, which operates a fleet of more than 230 aircraft and flies to more than 160 destinations around the world via its hub, Hamad International Airport. Once the work to expand the airport is complete, it will soon have a capacity of 50 million passengers per year.

This is a firm and confident step for the small monarchy, surrounded by the emerald waves of the Persian Gulf, so impressive that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hurried to Doha for a visit, where he held in-dept talks on the situation in the Arab world with Qatar’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah. US State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said the topics for discussion centered on the situation around Iran, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Interestingly, Pompeo thanked his Qatari counterpart after the talks for continuing to cooperate closely on a number of issues.

In this regard, it is worth recalling that when Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met with President Donald Trump twice during his last visit to the United States, Trump was literally gushing with compliments for his guest. It was clear from his words that Washington now sees an ideal partner in Doha, and a role model for America’s other Middle Eastern allies. Donald Trump has made a particular point of repeatedly thanking Qatar for the work the country has put in to expand the US Al Udeid Air Base, located in Qatar. One of Donald Trump’s main ideas is to get America’s Middle Eastern allies to support US military operations in the Middle East. This is in the context of Syria and the latest US plans to establish a maritime coalition in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab Strait to ensure freedom of navigation off the Iranian and Yemeni coasts. However, it is unlikely that Qatar will partner with the United States on this project, given the cooperation between Doha and Tehran.

In any case, thanks to the coordinated work of the Qatari Emir, government and people, Qataris are feeling confident about the future, and they will be looking forward to celebrating Qatar National Day in December. Russians and many other friends of Qatar wish the Qataris all the best — prosperity, happiness and success — so that they can move forward unimpeded and develop independently.

Viktor Mikhin, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”

There seems to be no limit to Qataris tossing around their wealth. This tiny kingdom with 2.6 million inhabitants is full of ridiculously lavish gold-plated palaces, most of them built with terrible taste. It is overflowing with Lamborghini racing cars and Rolls Royce limousines, and now, even with ludicrously wasteful air-conditioned sidewalks (cold air blows from below, into the 35C heat).

Ruled by the House of Thani, the State of Qatar is truly a strange place: according to the latest count conducted in early 2017, its total population was 2.6 million, of which 313,000 were Qatari citizens and 2.3 million ‘expatriates’, both the low-wage migrant workers, and the lavishly remunerated Western professionals.

Foreigners are doing everything; sweeping the floors, cleaning garbage, cooking, taking care of babies, flying Qatar Airways planes, performing medical surgeries and building office towers. Manual laborers are discriminated against; beaten, cheated, humiliated. Many migrant workers have been dying under “mysterious circumstances”. But they are still coming, mainly because Qatar, with its GDP per capita of $128,702, is the richest country on earth, and because there is huge demand for hundreds of different professions. Never mind that the perks are for the ‘natives’ only, while the minimum wage for foreigners is only around $200 per month.

Locked in a bitter dispute with its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar is moving closer and closer to its best allies – the United States and United Kingdom. The Al Udeid Air Base hosts over 100 aircraft of the United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and other Gulf War Coalition partners. It accommodates the forward headquarters of United States Central Command, No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group RAF, and the 379^th Air Expeditionary Wing of the USAF. Presently, at least 11,000 U.S. servicemen are permanently located here. Al Udeid Air Base is considered the most important military airport in the region, used for operations in countries such as Syria and Afghanistan.

Qatar has been playing an extremely important role in destabilizing Syria, and other countries in the Middle East. It has been spreading fundamentalist religious dogmas, as well as extreme capitalist creeds.

***

Qatar has plenty of money, and it uses some of its funds for various ‘educational programs’, which are closely linked to the Western, particularly US and British but also Wahhabi propaganda apparatus. International experts hired from the West have been promoting such extreme concepts as the privatization of schools, keeping the governments away from developing curricula, and spreading pro-Western and pro-market doctrines throughout the region and beyond.

Under the cover of ‘saving children’, Qatari foundations and programs are promoting Muslim fundamentalism, as well as the commercialization of education. And that is not just in Qatar itself, but also as far away as Somalia, South Sudan and Kenya.

While at Qatar University, I noticed that even the libraries are segregated (predictably, I was told by a UN staff member based in Qatar, that the so-called “Men’s Library” is incomparably better supplied than women’s), Qatar wants to present itself as a regional leader in higher education, by spreading around regressive philosophy and mindsets.

Naturally, the main goal is to maintain the status quo in the region.

In terms of quality education, things don’t work in Qatar itself, either. With all those huge budgets burnt, or more precisely wasted, Qatar has very little to be proud of. According to the OECD:

“In 2012, Qatar was ranked third from the bottom of the 65 OECD countries participating in the PISA test of math, reading and skills for 15- and 16-year-olds, comparable to Colombia or Albania, despite having the highest per capita income in the world.”

Since then, things have not improved much, although statistics on the subject are suddenly not too widely available.

***

At the end of October 2019, I found myself attending a conference, organized by the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, hosted by the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

Except one highly qualified UN expert (who had been working, for years, on the ground, in Syria and other places destroyed by the West and its Gulf allies), the panel of speakers consisted of individuals based in and pampered by Qatar.

The line that was tugged here was predictable:

Professor Frank Hardman basically explained how the states in the region “became weak”, and how the private sector should be taking and pushing for the education reforms.

But the most astonishing discourse came from Prof. Maleiha Malik, Executive Director, of the Protection of Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC), Education Above All Foundation. She spoke about the importance of protecting vulnerable schools as well as children, in conflict zones, and about the international legal mechanisms “which are now in place”, designed to bring those who are destroying schools and pupils to justice.

In brief, a typical mainstream “development” and NGO talk.

Qatar is far from being a place where one could be free to speak up his or her mind.

But I had no patience left. I have worked in countless war and conflict zones, all over the world. And what I was witnessing at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies was nothing short of an indoctrination process of both the participants of the conference, as well as the students.

I demanded they let me speak. When the microphone was passed on to me, I said that I needed an exact answer:

“Professor Malik, I have a question for you. I have been covering dozens, perhaps hundreds of conflicts and wars, all over the world. I saw hundreds of schools burning. I saw hundreds of children dead. Most of these atrocities were triggered by the United States, by Europe, or both. It all began long before I was born, of course, it is going on until now”.

I saw the horror on the faces of the organizers. They were devouring me with their eyes, they were begging me to stop. Most likely, this has never happened here, before. Everything was being filmed, recorded. But I was not ready to stop.

The students in aula did not react. They were clearly conditioned not to get excited by speeches delivered by ‘elements’ hostile to the regime.

I continued:

“Professor Malik, I am asking you, I demand to know, whether there was one single case when the United States, United Kingdom, France, Australia or any other Western country, was put on trial and condemned, by those international mechanisms that you mentioned earlier… Condemned for murdering millions of children, or for carpet-bombing thousands of schools in such places like Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and later in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria? For, right now, trying to starve children in Venezuela? For keeping people, including children, from having access to medicine…”

Then I turned to Frank Hardman:

“Professor Hardman, aren’t those states that you mention and defined as ‘weak’, in such a situation, because they are being antagonized, attacked and terrorized by the West; by historically imperialist countries?”

Total silence.

Then, I concluded:

“Wouldn’t it be the most effective way to protect schools and children, if we’d make sure that the West and its allies, would finally stop destroying dozens of countries all over the world?”

The Chair of the conference, Prof. Sultan Barakat, went to work, immediately, trying to contain the damage:

“Professor Malik, obviously, the question is about what is happening in Palestine…”

But Professor Malik was a tough warrior, like myself, only from the opposite side. She knew precisely that it was all beyond Israel and Palestine. Israel and Palestine were part of it, but they were not the only issue here. She brushed off Sultan Barakat and went straight after my throat:

“It is not about the West! It is not about one group of countries. All members of the UN Security Council are responsible! Look at Russia, committing atrocities in Syria…”

And the shouting match began. Our personal “Doha debate”.

“Which atrocities?” I shouted at her. “Prove it.”

“We have proof.”

“You?” I wondered. “You went to Syria? Or is it that you were given so-called proof by your handlers? You put Russia, a country which is saving Syria and Venezuela, on the same level as the countries that are murdering hundreds of millions of people in all corners of the world?”

I recalled, how many times during this ‘conference’, USAID was mentioned. All references were Western. Here, people from the Arab countries were speaking and thinking like the IMF, or The Economist.

I sat down. I had nothing else to add.

The controlled discussion somehow resumed. The faces of the students remained unmoved.

At night, I met for dinner a comrade with whom I used to work with in Afghanistan. Doha is a strange place. A place of unexpected encounters.

***

Qatar is doing to the arts what it is doing to education.

The next day I tried to visit several museums which the country is bragging about online and through its advertisements. All were closed, except the Museum of Islamic Art, which used to be free to the public, but is now charging a $15 entry fee.

The monstrously fragmented state and its individuals are now investing billions of dollars, purchasing artworks from all over the world. Bragging about it. Manipulating content. As it is manipulating, what is being produced in its ‘international’ film studios.

Departing from Doha to Beirut on Qatar Airways, I realized that there was not one Qatari citizen working onboard. The pilots were from the UK and Australia, while the flight attendants were recruited in the Philippines, India and Africa.

A few minutes after take-off, an aggressive advertisement began promoting Educate a Child (EAC), which is a program of the Education Above All Foundation.

In Qatar, everything seems to be inter-connected. Deadly US military bases, ‘foreign policy’, the arts, and yes, even education and charity.

Andre Vltchek is philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He’s a creator of Vltchek’s World in Word and Images, and a writer that penned a number of books, including China and Ecological Civilization. He writes especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”